Lemon Curd and Brioche à Tête for Mother’s Day!

This weekend is Mother’s Day and I will get breakfast in bed from my two wonderful young boys. It is a tradition that always ends up with the duvet and my children wearing a significant portion of food. The menu is a list of their favorite things to eat, prepared by their dad. Waffles smothered in syrup, whipped cream, berries and a side of bacon (because my husband Graham loves bacon). I adore it all! They generally give me about two bites before climbing into bed to inhale the rest. I’m sure someday when the boys get older and more civilized we will go out for brunch and I will actually get to eat something. But, there is a part of me that will sadly miss this display of loving savagery.

If I were to make my Mother breakfast in bed it would be something less sweet and gooey. I’d make a beautifully light Brioche à tête and serve it with a tangy lemon curd and blueberry jam, a pot of coffee and the New York Times would be perfection. I wish I could present her with this meal, but she lives much too far away! So mom, if you read this post, know that I was think about you when I made this and that I love you very, very much!

Happy mother’s day to all of you and enjoy whatever meal your loving family has in store for you. If you have the opportunity to cook for your mom and want to make lemon curd then here is the recipe. I’ve also gone step by step on The Artisan Bread in Five website to show you how to create the Brioche à tête.
This is a recipe I’ve used for years. It is perfect spread on Brioche, but is also a great filling for pie, piped in meringue cups or layered in a cake. After it is cooled it is quite stiff so you will need to whisk it to get a lovely smooth consistency.

6 large egg yolks

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice (it is also great with lime and grapefruit juice)

1 stick (1/4 pound) unsalted butter cut into 1 tablespoon slices

1 tablespoon zest (more or less as you wish)

In a large bowl whisk together the yolks and sugar. It is very important that you whisk them as soon as you put them in the bowl together or the sugar will “burn” the yolks and they will be grainy. Whisk in the lemon, you may need to strain it first. Add the zest.

Place the bowl over a medium sized sauce pot that has an inch of simmering water in it.

At first it will be thin and watery. Using a tempered rubber spatula stir the lemon mixture over the heat until it starts to thicken. this can take up to 10 minutes depending on how high your heat is.

As the lemon curd thickens it should cling to the rubber spatula and not drip off like water. It will be thick like a pudding.

Remove from the heat and add the butter. Stir until all of the butter has melted and is evenly blended into the lemon curd. Strain the curd into a container and cover with plastic. Put in the freezer for about 15 minutes, or until the curd is cold but not frozen. Remove and place in refrigerator until ready to use. It will be good for up to 5 days in the refrigerator.

Whisk the curd before serving to loosen it up and make it glossy and smooth.

lemon curd is the best, especially around this time of the year. When I was younger, I’d be so proud of my homemade breakfast consisting of peanut butter toast and a banana Haha, an if she got lucky, I’d make her a bad batch of eggs. Not anymore though! Happy mothers day Zoe.

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I'm Zoë François and I love to bake. This is where I play with sugar and take the mystery out of baking everything from cookies to wedding cakes. I studied pastry at the CIA, worked in restaurants, write cookbooks and now you can also find my creations on the Cooking Channel, Fine Cooking Magazine, General Mills, Cooking Club Magazine and Breadin5.com. More...

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